Fingerboard Dressing?

[TroyK]

I've noticed that I've developed some wolfe tones on my D string around F and F#. I was recording this week, so I tried a bunch of different strings until I found something that felt and sounded best and made it through with I think some decent recorded tone.

However, I noticed when I was changing my D string that I've got some pretty good string wear under most of the strings right there at 1st position. It may be time to have my fingerboard dressed.

Is it a reasonable assumption that these string "channels" could cause wolfe tones? I've not had a dressing like this before, for this reason, is this something that other people do on some schedule?

Troy

[sjd007]

AFAIK a wolf tone is where the resonant frequency of the string / bridge / bass body combination feed back to the string and partially cancel. This can most easily be altered by adjusting the resonant frequency of the string afterlength (adding a brass weight most commonly). From this theory a groove in the fingerboard shouldn't create a wolf tone. It can create annoying buzzing though, so if that is the case then dressing would help.

You can check for a wolf tone by bowing / plucking the notes around the one you suspect with a short sharp hard attack, and watching the string excursion. If you hit a note hard, then the string vibration just dies instantly, you have a wolf tone. The note almost "implodes" on you. It shoud sustain nicely and evenly.

A buzz on the other hand could be fingerboard, nut, bridge, low action...

Hope that helps...!

Simon

[TroyK]

Okay, thanks Simon.

[Uncletoad]

Ruts can make some notes sound terrible but they aren't responsible for wolf tones.

[TroyK]

Okay, I'll have to think a little more critically about what I'm hearing. Something not nice that wasn't there before.

By, the way, Phil, got a box from you this week. Thanks,